I don’t know why but every time I think of Rockenwagner I think of Ah-nuld. I know, that’s Schatzi’s but the fact that both restaurants were located on Main Street in Santa Monica was just enough for me to confuse the two. Anyhoo, what should really end all confusion is the fact that the R Restaurant closed down in January but has recently sprouted up in the form of a cute little bakery down from the street where I live in Mar Vista/Culver City.
With a tiny storefront located amid the motels, bike shops and karate studios on Washington Boulevard, this German bakery promises to stand out for all the addicts hooked on the baked goods it peddles at the local farmer’s market every week.
I checked it out during a lunch hour yesterday. Finding street parking out front midday was a breeze. Unfortunately, I didn’t have change so I just took my chances with an unpaid meter and rushed into the store.
Quickly surveying the chalk-scrawled specials menu (all sandwiches $7.50), I paused at the porchetta Italian ham with Asiago cheese and plum jam on a pretzel bun but ultimately decided on the brie sandwich with sauteed mushrooms, grapes, and walnut pesto on a croissant. I love brie! And grapes in a sandwich? Mmm, that’s different.
“Vould you like zumtheen to dreenk?”
I waved the cute little German man away and zeroed in on the bakery case in front of me. “Zumtheen sveet?” Hmm, strudels, chocolate croissants, cookies…I went for the cinnamon roll. For only $2.50, that seemed like a deal to me.
Eager to pay the man and get out of there so I could beat the meter maid, I didn’t see the “NO CREDIT CARDS” sign until I whipped out my Visa. After I let out a little whine of frustration, the nice man behind the counter offered up, “But I can take a check.”
So I actually wrote a check for my lunch. Yes, $10.62 seems pretty steep for a simple takeaway lunch but I’ll let it go this time. It’s a special occasion: another little cool shop that opened up in my neighborhood.
And I enjoyed my little meal. The sandwich was so light that having it with a cup of soup or something would have filled me up better. As it was I had just enough room left over to follow it up with the cinnamon roll. The roll itself wasn’t sickingly sweet as it didn’t have the uber-icing of Cinnabon. Dotsara complained about the bits of dried cinnamon but I loved ’em. I think nuking it for 30 seconds really made it extra tasty with gooey goodness.
I’d like to come back again and try out their Austrian Meinl coffee, see what their strudels are like and check out their sidewalk seats. These seem awfully close to the street but they’re a novelty to be appreciated in this neighborhood, where NO ONE uses an actual chair to sit on the sidewalk.
Rockenwagner Bakery
12835 W. Washington Boulevard
Mar Vista, California 90066
(310) 578-8171
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-3pm; Sat-Sun 9am-4pm